The name "Ho’onunui" means "to flourish and exceedingly multiply" and the aim of this non-profit organization is to equip, empower and encourage the reproduction and multiplication of the good people and good works of Christ in Hawai’i, the Pacific, Asia and beyond! Ho’onunui was formed in 2017 to resource Pastor C’s leadership development and church consulting work in Asia. The three largest investments of time and energy are currently in Japan, Mongolia and South Korea.

Check out Pastor C's most recent article on leadership:

Monthly Pastor Commentary

WHO QUALIFIES US TO LEAD IN THEIR WORLD?

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have been born and raised in Hawai’i, and to have received educational, living, and working experience on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Among these blessings I would count a handful of good friends who have taught me much about the world beyond my own experience and understanding, too. While lectures, books, and presentations have their value, there is just too much information that leaks out from the spaces between the words and images. That makes friendships, not merely working relationships, essential to learning.

A critical lesson I have learned through these friends is how to navigate the distinction between "us" and "them." Recent advances in brain science, as revealed by Allen Schore, Daniel Siegel, and Jim Wilder, have helped me to understand why information is only accessible in relationships. It turns out that the human brain quickly and subconsciously determines whether someone is an insider or outsider long before conscious thought kicks in. This neurological reality exposes the limited effectiveness of such cultural intelligence as gained in the classroom. While the use of a translator can act as a buffer to provide an outsider with a little more time to recognize what is going on with an insider audience, the relational and situational demands of real-world leadership happen too fast for information gained in a classroom or from a book to meet the demands of real-world leadership.

Living and leading in a world made increasingly proximal through technology, economics, and politics, yet without a heightened relational connectivity, has led me to believe that we cannot qualify ourselves to lead in someone else’s world. The varied demands and definitions of leadership, shaped and shaded by culture and its projection of power and authority—be it information, resources, relational equity, or technology—is complicated enough to navigate in one’s own world. My friends have helped me see that only they can qualify me to help, let alone lead in their world.